Rumors

Rachel Nichols: I talked to James Harden for a little bit this morning before the Clippers left for Denver and I said "Who's the best player?" and he said, "Well, no question, Jokic is the best player." But even he said all the players we want to see Shai winning MVP because of the season he had and the winning, and I think that really factors in for them more than maybe some people on the outside who are just looking at stat, stats, stats, stats… but he said, of course, Jokic is the best player.

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Jeff Teague: "We have a meeting. Tibs is like, ‘No, Jim, you can’t do that to me.’ Jimmy’s like, ‘I’mma have a meeting. If anybody tell anybody...’ This is how Jimmy was talking to us. Jimmy, ‘Jim, you got me messed up.’ ‘Anybody tell anybody about this meeting, I’m out.’ I bust out laughing like, ‘Bro, all right. We’ll have a meeting, bro. Literally.’ Jimmy tweets, ‘I’m out,’ and we’re like, ‘From what?’ Nobody said nothing. Like he having a meeting, he doing the show with Rachel Nichols. Bro, you about to talk about it. Jimmy, you crazy as hell, bro. But I love Jimmy though. He crazy."

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The mayor of Los Angeles is getting criticized after a social media post she wrote following the Lakers' loss in the NBA playoffs. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass didn't get a passing grade by some sports media personalities when she attempted to salute the Lakers for their season. Bass seemed to downplay the Lakers' series loss to Denver, saying that at least the team won the league's in season tournament. Rachel Nichols is one person who took exception to her post, which has since been deleted and replaced. Rachel Nichols: I’m not sure what to say except that this is a real tweet from LA’s mayor. Mayor Karen Bass: “Tough season, but at least we won the In-Season tournament! Proud of our team, @Lakers.” Nichols wasn't the only person who didn't like the post. X personality Big Cat also picked up on the story. Bass seems to have gotten the message. Her X account deleted the message, and replaced it. “You left it all on the floor–thank you (Lakers,)” Bass has since posted.

Clutch Points

ClutchPoints: Rachel Nichols: "[Kevin Garnett] said you remind him of an 84' Jordan. What do you think about what he said?" Anthony Edwards: "That's OG, man... If anybody wants to argue with him, you gotta take it up with Michael Jordan." 😅 (via @Rachel__Nichols) pic.twitter.com/zL1xzGJgr9

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Was that infamous practice with Jimmy Butler as crazy as depicted by the media? Anthony Tolliver: It was accurately depicted, I guess is the best way to put it. Probably most of the things you’ve heard about it are true. I was there, for the whole thing. I haven’t really heard anything that was over-exaggerated, even like, wow. Pretty sure every report I’ve heard about how it went and everything else, and how he left the practice early, and went and did an interview with Rachel Nichols. We got done with our practice. By the time we were in the locker room, he was on ESPN. It was bizarre. It was something that we didn’t even know how to react to because it was so bizarre. It was truly awkward.

HoopsHype

Nichols added that getting back out of the ESPN world allowed her to zoom out again for the first time in a while. “I had the perspective and had always seen it as, I’ll work here for a while and then I’ll work somewhere else,” Nichols explained. “I worked other places before I got here and I’ll work other places after I leave here, that kind of thing. I think some people in the ESPN system, it feels so big it’s sort of all you can see, you don’t have that perspective.”

Awful Announcing

Nichols compared the hyperspeed hunger among ESPN talent with “Stockholm syndrome.” “When you’re in that ESPN world, there is a lot of sort of Stockholm syndrome of, this is the only thing that matters. Cable television is still where things are at,” she told Le Batard. “I didn’t really understand that what had been the downsides and the restrictions of living your life [at one company].”

Awful Announcing

Rachel Nichols and DeMarcus Cousins launched an NBA podcast this week under the All the Smoke banner for Showtime Basketball.

Awful Announcing

Clutch Points: "He still thinks of himself as the guy from that Game 1 [vs. the Celtics]... he thinks he should be leading the show. The reason why he wanted out of Philadelphia in the first place is that it's the Joel Embiid show right now." -- Rachel Nichols on James Harden

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ClutchPoints: Rachel Nichols is joining Skip Bayless and Richard Sherman as a regular panelist for FS1's "Undisputed", per @Ourand_SBJ . Thoughts? 🤔

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Rachel Nichols: I don't know what's more crazy about this story that Dwyane Wade told on this week's Headliners - that a bouncer IN CHICAGO wouldn't let Michael Jordan into a club, or that he showed up at Wade's draft party completely uninvited and unannounced, just to show some love.

Twitter

Rachel Nichols is looking to provide some “quiet time” for both basketball stars and viewers with her new Showtime series, Headliners. The host known for her past stints at ESPN and Turner is channeling her basketball knowledge and Rolodex for the new series. On Thursday’s premiere, she will sit down with Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star and favorite to win league MVP honors.

deadline.com

Rachel Nichols: LeBron: "I've always been confident on any club I've been on, that if we can make it to the playoffs, we can compete with anyone." Says that applies to this current Lakers roster, that if things fall right, they can compete with anyone in the league.

Twitter

Rachel Nichols: “It’s my league now.” Magic Johnson telling a story about Michael Jordan at Dream Team practice during last night’s live taping of All the Smoke. So much fun with @DaTrillStak5 @Matt_Barnes22 & the @shobasketball crew.

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